1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a waterproof shoe structure with an exterior upper, an interior upper comprising at least a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer and a lining, an insole, and an outsole, wherein the lower end of the exterior upper is joined to the insole by a seam.
2. Description of Related Art
A structure of this type for shoes having an injection-molded outsole is known from EP 0 679 347 A. In the known shoe structure, the lower ends of the exterior and interior uppers are cut to different lengths, and the liquid outsole material in the injection molding process must be directed such that the lower end of the interior upper is subsequently embedded into the outsole material. Aside from the fact that this type of shoe structure offers a solution only for shoe structures with injection-molded soles, the waterproof embedding of the lower end of the interior upper causes problems in manufacturing the known shoe structure. In particular, during injection molding, when the liquid sole material presses the lower end of the interior upper against the exterior upper, it is practically unavoidable that the lining on the inside of the interior upper is brought into contact with the exterior upper, so that any moisture that might be present in the exterior upper can be transported to the shoe interior via the contact locations of the lining.
The object of the present invention is to avoid these disadvantages with a shoe structure of the type initially described.
The object is achieved with a shoe structure having an exterior upper, an interior upper comprising at least a waterproof, water vapor permeable functional layer and a lining, an insole, and an outsole, wherein the lower end of the exterior upper and the insole are joined by a seam. The functional layer at the lower portion of the interior upper extends past the lining and possibly additional layers of the interior upper by a lower portion of the functional layer so that the extending portion of the functional layer is joined to the lower end of the exterior upper in a waterproof manner, and so that the seam joining the lower end of the exterior upper to the insole is located exclusively in the portion of the lower end of the upper in which the lower portion of the functional layer is joined to the exterior upper in a waterproof manner.